18,000 more Buckinghamshire homes and businesses get faster broadband

BT announced today that faster broadband is now available to a further 18,000 homes and businesses in Buckinghamshire.

Wing, Brill and Naphill are among the latest communities in the county to benefit from upgrades as part of the roll-out of BT’s next generation broadband service delivered over copper lines. A full list can be found at the end of this release.

The BT investment will make available download speeds of up to 20 megabits per second (Mbps) – more than double the fastest speed previously available from BT.

The faster broadband is already available to around 300,000 Buckinghamshire premises and, by next Spring, 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the South East will be served by an exchange which has been upgraded to deliver these higher speeds. The new service is available on an open, wholesale basis to all companies providing broadband*.

Martin Tett, leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, said: “I am a strong champion of the need for High Speed Broadband across Buckinghamshire. I'm very pleased that today’s announcement by BT is helping to deliver 21 Century Broadband (WBC) infrastructure across Buckinghamshire. Everyone recognises the importance of faster broadband, not just for its contribution to the local rural economy and potential to create new businesses and jobs, but for every aspect of modern life. In the current economic climate, such an investment in improving rural Broadband is to be greatly welcomed. But longer-term it’s also essential that people and organisations take up this new technology and make the most of the new network.”

John Weaver, BT’s South East regional director, said: “Faster broadband will deliver important benefits for people across Buckinghamshire, whether they are running a business, working or studying from home, doing the weekly shop online, downloading films and TV programmes or keeping in touch with friends and family around the world. It can all be done better using faster broadband.

“That’s why BT is determined to bring faster speeds to as many homes and businesses as possible, and we are keen to work with the public sector to find solutions for even the most challenging locations.”

This investment in the copper network is in addition to BT’s £2.5 billion roll-out of fibre-based broadband, which will bring even faster speeds to around two-thirds of UK premises by the end of 2014.

BT has already announced that fibre broadband will come to Woburn Sands next year and the service is already available in Iver.

Note to Editors *Once an exchange area has been upgraded for next generation broadband, some service providers automatically upgrade their customers to the enhanced broadband service. People should contact their chosen service provider for more information about the products and services they offer.